Dubai

fDi on Location: Dubai

Dubai has been ranked by fDi Magazine as the top destination in the Middle East for FDI attractiveness, and its free zones have dominated the magazine's "Free Zones of the Future" rankings in recent years.

In this latest "On Location" video, fDi Magazine's editor Courtney Fingar investigates the reasons for Dubai's regional supremacy in FDI competitiveness, what has attracted multinational companies to the emirate, and how its economic development strategists plan to position it for future growth.

Dubai's economy has long been dependent on its real estate and tourism sectors but, in a bid to diversify, the emirate has started focusing on logistics, financial services and energy, with government-backed initiatives – including an airport city, a financial free zone and a new solar park – driving the rapid growth of each of these sectors.

The property crash that hit Dubai in 2008 put an end to years of rapid growth. While these wounds are not yet fully healed, the emirate is returning to strength and is retaining its allure to investors as the safest of havens with the finest infrastructure in the Middle East.

Corporate location benchmarking tool

fDi Benchmark is the only online tool to benchmark the competitiveness of countries and cities in over 50 sectors. Its comprehensive location data series covers the main cost and quality competitiveness indicators for over 300 locations around the world.